Animal Zoo
by Drew Luczynski
Summary: George Orwells classic fable retold in a modern day zoo.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Percival Grimm of the Central Park Zoo had just locked the food storage for the night. But left the door to the Reptile house and the bird cages unlocked. He closed the gate. But was to drunk to lock it, walked past the enclosures one last time, opened the door to his house, drew himself a last glass of beer. And fell a sleep on his bed, his uniform still on.

As soon as the light went out there was a fluttering and a stirring all throughout the habitats. Word went round during the day that Busara the prize old lion had a strange dream the night before, and wished to communicate it to the other animals. And so all the animals decided that as soon as the place was deserted they would all meet at Busaras enclosure to hear what he had to say. Busara was an old lion, he was separated from the other lions and lived in a retirement enclosure for the past 3 years. His mane hasn't been cut in many months, he was almost unable to walk, and his teeth were very worn down. Yet he still had a regal looking appearance as well as still ferocious and fearful.

Soon enough the rest of the animals arrived and began to take there seats. First came the big cats. The Cougars, the Jaguars, the Tigers, and the 2 brother lions Kion and Kopa along with their harem of lionesses and their 5 cubs. Next were the primates. The Aye Aye, the Lemurs, the Chimps, the Mandrills, the Capuchins, the orangutans, and the gorillas. Both the cats and monkeys took seats in front of the platform that Busara was sitting on, minus the orangutans and Gorillas who moved back a bit to make space for smaller animals. And soon the lemurs and the Aye Aye jumped on their enormous shoulders once the saw the fossa had snuck in to the enclosure unnoticed. It was known that Fossa ate their kind. Though the Fossa were tame, this sadly didn't convince their former prey and they all hid behind the chimp known as Tarzan.

Tarzan was a handsome looking chimp and the smartest animal in the zoo when it came to literacy. Next to him was Clayton the Mandrill. A fierce looking creature who was know for getting his way. Both were in the very front along with a Capuchin named Julien, who despite his dumb appearance and voice was a clever talker, and very good convincing other animals. It's said he could turn black to white.

Soon came the Warthogs, the Komodo dragon, the pandas, the tapirs, and the bison. The Eagles, Owls, Hawks, and Macaws perched themselves on the tree. The bats hung themselves from it. The antelopes, mountain goats, camels, reindeer, and zebras all sat behind the cats and began to chew the grass they had in their mouths. The penguins and flamingos came in flocks though not really orderly. They sat next to the ostriches and the cassowaries.

The elephants all came in together, a total of 9. All in much better order as they stood behind the fence along with the giraffes not wanting to squish a small animal. The leader of the herd Hathi was an enormous beast. Nearly 9 ft tall he was larger than all the other elephants, despite being the only Asian in a herd of Africans. He had a some what stupid appearance, and he was not of first rate intelligence that was expected from elephants. Yet his steadiness of character, hard work in preformences, and leadership made him one of the most respected animals in the zoo. Next to him was Rachel his adopted Daughter. She was a shy character and rarely ever talked to any other animal that wasn't her father. This is mainly due to her being sold from a circus that closed after they killed her parents. The only other animal that tried to talk to her was Molly the giraffe, the most attractive animal in the zoo by most votes. She despite her looks she was a motherly creature and always try's to help those in need the best she can.

Just as Molly took her place a cheeping noise was heard as the group of baby flamingos who lost their mothers began circling around her leg. Using her long neck she picked each one up one at a time and put them on the fence in front of her. Soon a small hole was seen as the meerkats came out of it along the Platypus and the Tasmanian Devil. The Sea Lions arrived next with the otters. The koalas climbed the giraffes necks to reach the enclosure. The kangaroos leapt over the fence. the hippos stood next to the elephants along with Ike the Rhino and the Sloth hanging from his Horn. Ike was the oldest animal in the zoo and the worst tempered. Ike seemed to hate socializing with other animals, even the Sloth who he agreed to give a ride to the meeting so she wouldn't be late, even though she was barely paying attention throughout the meeting anyway. Though without admitting it he was devoted to Hathi. The fellow pachyderm was close to the only friend he had.

Finally, after the Grizzlies, Polar Bear, Hyenas, Wolves, and Bear cubs came the rest of the reptiles. The crocodiles squeezed rudely to the front. The Cobras slithered through causing a bit of panic for the more energetic animals. The Geckos climbed up the wall next to the flamingo chicks. The tortoises sat near the Bears. And the Anaconda named Kaa Slithered over the fence and sat down near the carnivores. She was a very motherly creature like Molly, though she also was one who never trusted another carnivore completely, calling them savage creatures after a tussle with a jaguar she befriended in the wild, which could be remembered by the scar on her eye. Soon all the animals in the zoo where present except Tobias the Dolphin. Though it's mainly due to the fact he couldn't leave his tank. But he wasn't to far from the place and used his echolocation to hear what was being said.

At last Busara was able to speak. "My friends you should already know about the dream I had last night, but I'll get to that in a minute. I do not think comrades that I'll be with you for many more days. And before I die I have something I need to tell you. Now tell me comrades what is the nature of this life of ours? We are born, we are given enough food to keep the breath in our bodies, then we are presented to other humans strictly for entertainment. And once we have lost their interest we are slaughtered with hideous cruelty." This lead to a uproar of despair amongst the crowd. Busara raised his paw for silence. "As I was saying, Animal kind is born to a miserable laborious and short existence. But is this simply due to us not being in the wild anymore, is Central Park Zoo simply unable to keep us happy. No comrades, The land of Central Park is rich with Grass. Its climate is good and its soil if fertile. This single zoo alone could handle many more animals from 20 elephants, dozens of Giraffes, hundreds of zebras, all of which living in comfort and dignity we can not begin to imagine. So why is it comrades that we suffer they way we do? It can be summed up in a single word, man. Man is our enemy. Remove man and the cause of our misery will be abolished forever. Man is the weakest creature on earth. He has no Hooves, no claws, no fangs, no fins or wings. He cannot push down a tree, he cannot fly, he cannot run fast enough to catch prey. Yet he is lord of all the animals. He sets them to work, gives them enough food to keep them from starving and the rest he keeps for himself.

You Camels that sit I front of me how much milk have you produced? And what has happened to the milk that is used to breed up sturdy calves? Every drop of it goes down the throats of our enemies. And you birds that sit in the tree. How many eggs did you lay? And how many actually hatched into chicks. The rest go to market and are illegally sold to bring in money for Percival and his men. You Arctic creatures tell me, why is it that you are somehow cold in the winter? Because you fur is taken and used to make rugs. And what about our families. Where are those family members that we used to live with. All were shipped off to other zoos, you'll never see them again. And yet our lives we live can't reach the natural end. You Hathi the minute your strength disappears Percival will sell you to the slaughterhouse." Rachel grabbed he fathers leg with her trunk and began to silently sob. Busara noticed this but continued. "For myself I do not grumble for I am a lucky one. I was given a nice and quiet rock ledge for retirement. Yet other animals that have aged have been slaughtered once they have began to have trouble walking. So what is it comrades that we must do? It is simple my friends. Rebellion!

I do not know when the rebellion will come. In a week, a month, or in a hundred years. But I know that sooner or later the rebellion will come. Picture it comrades a zoo that has risen beyond the levels of a farm where animals are free to enjoy their lives with out the fear of humans. Over through your tyrants and we shall be rich and free." This lead to another uproar, though this one of a more positive type. Once again a paw was raised for silence. "But remember once you defeat man, do not adopt his vices. We must never come to resemble man in anyway. Amongst us animals there must be unity and comradeship. All animals are friends. All humans are enimies. No animal should live in a house, or sleep in a bed, or wear clothes, or smoke tobacco, or drink Alchohol, or touch money, or engage in trade. All the habits of man are evil. And above all no animal must tyrannize of his own kind. We animals are brothers. Large or small, clever or simple, fur, scales or feathers. Now and forever all animals are EQUAL!" Once again a roar of excitement filled the zoo. "Now my friends I will tell you of a song I learned in the dream. A song of justice and freedom." He cleared his throat and began to sing. His voice was a little horse but we was still able to get the job done. The song ran

Beasts of the world we shall unite  
Rise up and ready for the fight  
Soon or late the day will be  
When mans defeated and we are free  
Soon or late they day will be  
When mans defeated and we are free  
Though our lives be lives full of misery  
Our limbs be tired and worn  
Our dreams will not be broken  
And our hearts will not be torn  
Our dreams will not be broken  
And our hearts will not be torn

Almost before he finished the other animals began to sing it for themselves. The smarter ones already learning it by heart. Soon the whole zoo was singing Beasts of the World in perfect unison. The cats Roared it. The elephants Trumpeted it. The Penguins chirped it. The snakes hissed it. Even Tobias was able to squeak it. The animals were so excited they would have kept singing it all night long but soon a gun shot rang out. Percival had woken up and thinking there was a fox or something in the zoo grabbed his gun and fired two shots in the air. The whole zoo soon was a stampede ground as all the animals rushed back to his or her enclosure. After three minutes the whole zoo was asleep. Percival closed his window and went back to bed, though not before having another glass of beer. Busara looked at direction where the sound came from and growled. 'Man may rule over us now' he thought to himself. 'But one day the rebellion will come. One day'.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

3 nights later Busara died peacefully in his sleep. His body was buried at the foot of his enclosure. That same day the other animals came over to his exhibit to pay their respects.

The zoo rarely if ever had any visitors so they could leave their enclosures and not worry to much about humans. The zoo used to be successful and Percival while not nice was a capable keeper. But as of late he and the zoo fell on evil days. Percival turned to drinking more than was good for him after losing money in a lawsuit. As a result he started taking less and less care for the zoo, and soon visitors stopped coming which only made his drinking worse. His fellow keepers were dishonest, and lazy. The water wasn't cleaned, the bushes weren't trimmed, the trash was never removed, and the animals were underfed.

Once at Busaras enclosure a wolf sniffed the ground and gave a howl once he found Where Busara was buried. Molly came forward with a piece of ribbon in her mouth. She dropped it on the grave and nuzzled Rachel, who was holding her fathers trunk in tears. In fact all the animals had small tears in their eyes minus Ike.

"There are no rewards after death". Said Tarzan on a platform that he and Clayton were standing on. "There is only the here and now. We must work to make this life better". Than Clayton began to speak. "Friends we must always remember that Busara died for every one of us. And now we each have a duty to him. Revolution!"

The weeks following were full of much secret activity. Busaras words seem to have inspired the primates and given them a new outlook on life. They had no idea when the rebellion would come. They had no reason to believe it would come in their life time. But they saw that it was their duty to prepare for it. Leading them were Tarzan, Clayton, and Julien. The three had elaborated Busaras words to a way of thought they gave the name of animalism. Every night after the gates were closed they would have secret meetings to extend the principals of animalism. Of course at the beginning they were meet with much stupidity. Some animals asked questions like 'Percival feeds us if he is gone we will starve to death' this one was mostly popular with the carnivores. Another frequently asked questions was 'why should we care what happens if we are dead' or 'if this rebellion were to happen in our time what difference does it make if we prepare for it or not?' And the primates has difficulty showing them that this was the spirit of animalism. There most faithful decibels where the elephants and Molly. Once they excepted their teachers they absorbed what they were told and helped spread it to the other animals.

Though one of the most challenging parts was the lies spread by Tobias. Tobias was a dolphin bought from an aquarium and like Hathi was not as intelligent as his species is said to be. The others disliked him since he did nothing but tell tales that were mostly fake. His most famous story was the tale of the land called Sugar Candy Mountain. It was were animals went when they died. In Sugar Candy Mountain it was Sunday seven days a week. Clover was in season, rivers full of chocolate, and sugar floating through the air. While most of Tobias tales were considered false a good portion of animals believed in Sugar Candy Mountain and the others had real difficulty convincing the other animals their was no such place. One such example was about three weeks after the meetings started. Tobias was talking to a crowd which consisted of Rachel, a panda, 2 camels, the warthogs, a cobra, and a few penguins.

"Just beyond that cloud". Said Tobias "it is the perfect place for all animals pure of heart". This lead to an 'oooh' and an 'aaah' from the listeners.

"Alright break it up" the animals turned and a large snake came up to the tank and glared at the dolphin. "Your lies do nothing but fill their heads with nonsense. No animal is ever pure of heart, especially if they eat meat". Kaa said angrily.

"Silence non believer! What I speak is the truth!" Tobias replied with a similar tone.

"Kaa is right Tobias" Tobias gulped and saw Tarzan standing next to her looking very angry. "We have a rebellion to prepare for and I don't need to have there minds clouded with false hope! Now buzz off before I let Kaa into the tank."

"You land creatures are sick!" He replied before swimming into the reef he had in the tank. The other animals realizing story time was over began to head back to their homes. Rachel walked with her head down as if she was depressed or something before she bumped into a tree. As she did a screech was heard. She looked up and saw Franklin the Eagle fly down and land in front of her.

"Is there something I can help you with?" He asked. While he looked like a fierce killer he was actually just a big teddy bear (or bird in his case) and was only angry when it was impossible for him to feel anything else.

"It's nothing, sir". Rachel replied using the manners Her father taught her. Franklin looked at her for a minute not convinced. But then flew back into the tree to continue his conversation with a snowy owl.

At the same time the two lion brothers were teaching some of the other cats what they learned from the primates. They, being one of the most successful students, taught some of the other animals to help lay pressure off the primates.

"Remember comrades that it is immoral to animalism to kill another animal." Kion told the audience with Kopa nodding in agreement. One of the two Cougars raised her paw and asked. "If we cannot kill than how shall we feed? We cannot eat leaves and fruit could we?" This caused a bit of panic amongst the others.

"No my friend. We are simply forbidden from eating our comrades. Their are still the wild creatures which are brainless and almost have no feelings at all." Kopa assured them. "My brother and I used to live on nothing but what instinct told us to do. And I'm sure many of the other animals also had a similar experience if they were not born in captivity. Just remember that once we have all the space to hunt the squirrels and rabbits, they don't feel anything or think anything so you won't be killing a sentient creature." This confused some the audience, while the others were watching the Cubs play with a rope. Kopa face pawed and Kion put his paw on his shoulder and gave his brother a sympathetic look.

Though the whole concept of humans being gone was not happy news for everyone. Ike seemed to show no expression so it was unknown if he was anticipating the rebellion or not. In fact He seldom talked period, and the few times he did were for cynical remarks like God had given him a tail to keep the flys off, but that he sooner would have had no tail and no flies. The Sloth seemed to have very little interest as well. She seemed to be more interested in sleeping than the rebellion and felt all this talk of freedom was simply disturbing her naps and wished it would just come so she could sleep in peace. Another problem was Joseph the Dromedary who pulled a cart around the park. His first question to Tarzan was "Will their still be sugar after the rebellion"?

"No comrade". Tarzan replied. "We have no means of making sugar. Nor would you need it. You'll have all the grass and hay a camel would need.

"And would I still be able to able to wear my saddles?"

"Comrade, your saddles are a form of clothing and is the badge of slavery. Can you not see that liberty is more important than some silly saddles". Joseph agreed but he didn't seem convinced.

Now of course the rebellion seemed to be achieved much quicker and easier than was expected


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

It had been 4 months since Busaras speech, and the meetings were a success as every animal in the zoo seemed to understand the basics of animalism. They were not expecting the rebellion to happen in their lifetime. But they would teach it to their children and keep passing it on until the time had come. That time would be October 4th of that year. It was a Monday when Percival went to the city to go drinking. In Fact he got so drunk at the local bar he didn't come back until Tuesday. The other keepers had already milked the camels and reindeer, then went off to go gambling with out feeding the animals.

"Anything yet on your end!?" One of the antelopes yelled out to the zebras. The zebras reply was a no like all the other animals.

"We need milking". One of the reindeer said as she lay down on the straw in her habitat.

"You'll just have to be patient". Replied Franklin who sat in the tree in his cage looking at the meerkats across from him, and trying not to drool.

Hours pass and still the animals waited. The bear cubs tried to get some milk from their mother but she had none left, the rest of the Eagles were now drooling at the meerkats, one of the Cobras was eating himself, the ostriches kept confusing pebbles for bird feed, the hyenas tried eating out of the trash, even the sloth was so hungry she couldn't sleep. Eventually at night fall the men and Percival did return. The animals were hopping they would now be feed.

"Uh sir". One of the keepers asked. "What about the animals?" He pointed to the enclosures.

"Ah let em rot. The sooner they all drop dead the sooner we can make this place a bar." He and the other men went into his house to continue drinking.

"He's not feeding us pass it on!" One of the macaws said. Soon the whole zoo got word. And they would not take any more of it

"If Percival would not feed us then we shall do it ourselves!" Clayton cried out. The whole zoo roared in agreement. Soon everyone was in front of the storage house. Hathi, two of the hippos, and Ike, charged at the metal door making a giant hole large enough for everyone to fit through. Soon everyone was helping themselves. Molly helped the flamingo chicks get some Shrimp, the crocs, penguins, and bears tore the bag holding the fish,the geckos opened the fly jar and used there tongues to capture the insects inside. Kaa swallowed at least three dead rats whole at the same time, and the elephants ate anything they could get their trunks on. Julien, Tarzan and Clayton watched the others eat while they themselves were snacking on some fruit.

"I must say Clayton this was a brilliant idea." Julien praised before diving into the mango he had. Clayton seemed to accept the response with pride and a bit of an ego before he to started eating his own food.

However this didn't go unnoticed. The noise of the door being broken was heard by Percival and in a minute he and all of his men were right out side the storage, all carrying whips in their hands. They lashed their whips out in all directions. The younger animals hid behind their guardians. The other animals started staring angrily at the keepers. This seemed to have been the breaking point. Soon they flung themselves onto their tormentors.

"Charge!" Cried out Hathi as all of the elephants, Rachel included, charged at them

"Follow me Kopa!" Yelled Kion as he leaped at the keepers with his brother and the lionesses following. The Eagles and Hawks screeched and flew down. The ungulates stampeded at them. The gorillas banged their chests, And the carnivores lunged and them with open mouths full of teeth.

This startled the men so much that most of them dropped their whips in a state of shock. This kind of behavior they never expected of animals who they assumed were used to this kind of behavior from man. The animals slashed, gored, pecked, and bit at the humans viciously. With Clayton and Tarzan commanding them from afar.

"Don't give them time to regroup!" Tarzan cried out

"Seize the day!" Ordered Clayton

Percival and three others grabbed some tranquilizers and tried to dart the other animals. But a swipe from a jaguars paw knocked ones out of their hand, the polar bear tackled another one causing the loaded gun to fire into a wall. A punch from an orangutan took care of another one. And Percivals gun was knocked out of his hand and smashed by Hathi. Soon the men deprived of their weapons made a run for it with the animals behind them in pursuit. The men ran out of the gates. Got into the truck the keepers used to go gambling and drove off. And so almost before they realized it the animals had fought and won. Percival was expelled. And the Central Park Zoo was there's.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

For the first few minutes the animals couldn't believe there good fortune. There first act was to march in a body around the zoo, both inside and outside the walls, to make sure no human being was hiding anywhere upon it. Then they all raced back to the center to confirm the news.

"We haven't seen a trace" said Franklin. "The humans have truly left". Once again there was a silence that was followed with shock.

Soon Clayton lead them to the harness room and opened the door.

"If the zoo is now truly ours we must make it a first priority to destroy all that remind us of Percival." He said before he and the other animals started grabbing supplies. Soon they all came out with supplies in their mouths and put them all in a pile. Using some rocks Tarzan lit up a fire and watched along with the others as it consumed the reminders of man. Gone where the cattle rods, the extractors, the chains, the knifes and needles used to euthanize, and the whips, everyone catered with joy when they saw the whips go up in flames. While this was going on everyone was singing Beasts of the World. The sea lions barked it, the Bisons grunted it, the macaws squawked it, and the zebras brayed it. Soon the fire died down and Clayton lead them all back to the food storage and gave them all double rations of sugar. Then they all went back to their enclosures and slept like they never slept before.

But they awoke at dawn as usual. And suddenly remembering the glorious thing that had happened. They all race out to the tallest hill in the zoo and looked over all they could see. Yes it was there's, all theres. Everything they could see was theres. Some of them leaped into the air in excitement. Others rolled around in the dirt, the birds flew around, the elephants threw dirt all over themselves, the tortoises rolled down the hill, even Ike couldn't help but smile even though he knew the happiness wouldn't last. They then made a tour of inspection. The large fountain, the picnic area, the agora, the large pavilion. It was almost as if everything they saw they have never seen before. And now they could hardly believe it was all truly their own.

But yet Tarzan was nowhere in the group. A little while later Hathi & Rachel, with Kaa riding on her back, found Tarzan near the entrance with a gorilla holding a large piece of wood that he was painting on.

"Hello Tarzan"! Called out Rachel

"Ah Rachel, you Hathi and Kaa are just in time. I have a glorious surprise for all of you." With this remark the Gorilla hung the piece of wood where the sign that said 'Central Park Zoo' used to stand. But this time something else was written on it.

"What does it say?" Rachel asked.

"That is the zoos new name". Replied Tarzan. "And as the zoo now belongs to us. What words have I painted?"

"Ass Zoo?" Asked Hathi.

"Animal Zoo". Corrected Tarzan

"Animal Zoo". Echoed Rachel.

The sign was nearly painted. And aside from the fact the the N, L, and Z where spelt backwards the spelling was all correct. There was a few seconds of silence before Kaa broke them.

"So if you could write you also must be able to read."

"Yes we primates have taught ourselves to read and write."

After a while they meet back up with the group who were standing outside Percival's house. All seeming terrified. It was there's to but they were hesitant to go in. But a small kick from Hathi swung the door open. They all started to walk inside single file. All except Tarzan who carried the bucket of pain the used before and stopped in front of a wall. The other animals all walked through the house, silently almost afraid to speak above a whisper. Until Clayton broke the silence.

"Look at this!" He said angrily. "The humans steeped themselves in luxury while we lived in squalor." As they kept on walking he noticed something. "A horse hair chair! animals have to die for humans to sit in comfort!" They soon went upstairs and found the bedroom. "And this bed. Filled with feathers plucked from animals!"

After a little bit of walking they came across a room that had a strange looking object in the middle playing pictures. This seemed to distract most of the animals.

"What is that?" Asked someone to Julien.

"It's a box where humans watch humans." He replied.

Clayton watched for a bit and thought to himself. 'Keeps them quiet. could come in handy.'

Soon they came across a room with a giant metal door. After opening it all those in the room gasped. It was the room where they killed the animals to old, or to ill to survive, and skinned them to put their bodies on display, and sell or eat the rest. Molly covered the flamingo chicks eyes with her tail and a penguin fainted when it saw the skull of another one.

"We must burry them all." Said Hathi who like many others was having tears in his eyes.

"That we shall." Replied Clayton. And aside from a barrel of beer which was stove in by a push from Hathi nothing else was touched. They were just coming out when Joseph was discovered to be missing. Going back inside he was found fooling around with some ribbons he was struggling to keep in place without hands to hold them. The others reproached him sharply.

"Joesph you know that ribbons are a form a clothing and are against the law!" A crocodile yelled at him. Three bats grabbed the ribbons and dumbed them into a river not to far from the zoo. It had been unanimously decided that the house would be preserved as a museum. They all agreed that no animal should ever live there.

Soon everyone was outside when Tarzan called the over.

"Comrades over here!" The others went to where he was. Which was a giant brick wall behind the place Busara lived. Except now there seemed to be giant white letters covering the whole wall which could be read thirty yards away. "These are Busaras thoughts". Tarzan explained. "The principals of animalism. We must always remember what he taught us." He than began to read the commandments out load. They ran

The Seven Commandments.

1: What Ever Goes Upon Two Legs Is An Enemy

2: What Ever Goes Upon Four Legs Or Has Wings Or Scales Is A Friend.

3: No Animal Shall Wear clothes

4: No Animal Shall Sleep In A Bed

5: No Animal Shall Drink Alcohol

6: No Animal Shall Kill Another Animal

7: All Animals Are Equal

This lead to a cheer among the crowd. And aside from the fact that friend was spelt F-R-E-I-N-D and a few letters where backwards the spelling was still perfect.

Meanwhile the mayor of the city, Alan, was visiting the local bar for his daily drink. He just sat down when he heard the chatter of some men.

"This is an outrage"! Replied one of Percivals men.

"At the Bronx Zoo animals know there place." Said another one.

"Know there place." All eyes turned to Alan. "Well of course they know their place, their animals dear boy." Percival tried to say something but was cut off by Alan. "Oh you poor fool. You got no money, no place to live. The treatment of your animals had lead them to sezing power. And uprising which could spread to all the other zoos." He turned around and began to walk away. But not without saying. "You've done enough".


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Back at the zoo the animals had all calmed down when Clayton began to talk.

"Comrades it is half past six and we have a long day ahead of us. Today we shall begin the hay harvest. And let us make it a point of honor to do it faster than in human times. Now line up to revive your instructions".

So all the animals walked out the gate to the fields where to food was grown. But soon the Reindeer who had been loaning for some time collapsed on the group moaning in pain. They hadn't been milked for 24 hours and their utters felt like they were going to burst. Clayton and Julien grabbed some buckets and began to milk the reindeer while the other animals went to the fields. Minus the bucks which stayed to help comfort the does.

Once the other animals had reached the fields Tarzan signaled one of the elephants to attach themselves to the plow that was sitting nearby some hay. Hathi tried to put it on but was struggling until Molly helped put the rope the plow was attached to around his neck. With that he began plowing. Along with the other elephants in tow. It all started out difficultly for all the other animals. The tools that they had were more designed for humans and not for wild animals. But the primates and their cleverness helped instruct the other animals and the work was done like magic. Oh how they worked in fields. The flamingos used hooks to slice the grain of the ground. The kangaroos used rakes to help pull it all together so it can be put in a cart pulled by a hippo that the platypus would help smooth out. The antelopes helped push small bales of hay into bigger ones for the reindeer, once they arrived after being milked,push into hay stacks that the koalas and giraffes helped put hay into. The primates did not actually work but more directed and supervised. The closest they did to working was walking next to an elephant say 'gee up comrade' or 'or whoo back comrade' as the case may be. Hathi was the inspiration of everybody. He had been a hard worker in Percivals time but now he seemed for like 3 elephants than one, and he and the others knew the fields better than the humans could after a month working in them.

They had just returned back from their first days work when they noticed the pails of milk that the reindeer produced.

"What is going to happen to all that milk?" Some one asked.

"Percival used to mix it up in our mash." Said one of the warthogs.

"Never mind the milk comrades said Clayton, who the animals never saw all day. He placed himself in front of the buckets before continuing. "The harvest is more important and we have a big day tomorrow so go get some sleep, we start back up at dawn." So the animals all went to their enclosures to sleep. And come next morning the milk seemed to have vanished. They were just about to leave when a voice called out to them.

"Ahoy Comrades!" They turned around and were in shock. Tobias was outside of his tank. He was in a flat crate full of water with wheels attached to it that he used his flippers to move. Tarzan then came out form behind him and began to talk.

"With some knowledge and research on wheelchairs we were able come up with one for A dolphin. This comrades is the beginning of the wild comrade assist comity. The first of many commutes to come".

The days following along with harvesting was the work of comities for animals. There was the clean stripes comity for the zebras. The egg laying comity for the ostriches, the wild comrade assist comity as mentioned beforehand, the clean milk comity for the camels and Reindeer, the smoother skin comity for the snakes and lizards, and the long nose comity for the elephants and tapirs. So far all these comities were a failure. The wild comrade assist comity was dropped almost immediately as the wild creatures didn't seem to understand what they were told, along with the facts that only herbivores took part in the comity and the wild creatures only took advantage of their generosity.

The only real success was the reading and writing lessons. These lessons went off much more successfully. The primates could read as well as humans and had decided to dedicate some off time to educate their fellow comrades. The cats, wolves, bears, and raptors could read fairly successfully, but most had no interest reading anything other than the seven commandments. The Cobras couldn't spell out words without the letter S. Kaa, Ike and Tobias could all read as well as any primate. Kaa would sometimes read some newspaper and magazines she found in the trash to other animals, though Ike never exercised this faculty, as to him to seemed there was nothing worth reading reading. Molly, Rachel, and the other giraffes and elephants could memorize the whole alphabet, but couldn't put words together. Hathi couldn't get past the letter D. He would write out the letters A-B-C-D in the dirt with his large foot. And then stand staring at them with his ears pressed against his head trying to remember what came next. He did eventually learn E-F-G-H but at that time he had already forgotten A-B-C and D and once he remembered them again he forgot the next four letters. He eventually decided to just stay with those four letters, almost always tracing out the letters in the dirt with his paw, even during working hours, to help remember. Joesph only wanted to learn how to spell his name. Once he learned he would form these out of pieces of twig, and decorate them with a flower or two, then walk around them admiring them. None of the other animals could get past A. And some of the stupider ones had a harder time remembering the seven commandments by heart.

Tarzan declared that the seven commandments could be simplify to a simple term of 'four legs good, two legs bad'. It was said that this was the principal of animalism and any animal that could remember it was safe from human influence. The birds first objected to it, thinking they also had two legs. But Tarzan was able to clear things up for them.

"A wing comrades is a form of movement for those that can fly. Therefore it should be considered as a type of leg. The mark of the human being is the hand which is the instrument used for his evil deeds." Aside from the Hawks and eagles the other birds didn't exactly get it at first but trusted whatever it was that Tarzan said. The phrase four legs good two legs bad was painted above the seven commandments in large letters that could be read father than the actual commandments. The zebras seemed to develop a likening to the phrase and would spend hours sitting in there enclosure saying "four legs good two legs bad" without stopping for hours. However Clayton showed no interest in Tarzan's comities . He felt education for the youth was more important than those that were already grown up. So he spent most of his free time teaching Rachel, the flamingo chicks, and the bear and lion cubs.

The harvest also was a success. It was managed to be completed in 3 days less time than it took the humans. It was also the largest harvest as the smaller animals like Geckos and Eagles were able to locate any left over hay with there sharp eyes. There still was some difficultly for example when it was time to harvest the corn they had to blow the chaff away the old fashion way with the breath since hey had no access to a thrashing machine. But the primates with there intelligence and Hathi's muscles pulled them throw. Their would be days it seemed all of the work rested on his enormous shoulders. He even arranged for one of the bats to wake him up an hour earlier than the others to get some extra work done. His response to any questions why would be "I will work harder" which he adopted as his personal modo.

Life seemed to be better for everyone. They had more food without the presence of humans. And it seemed to taste better since it was by themselves for themselves. No one stole, no one grumbled over his share. The only one that didn't seem to change at all was Ike. When asked if he was happy or not he would respond.

"Rhinos live a long time, none of uses ever seen a dead rhino". The behavior of Joseph annoyed everyone. He would always leave work early claiming something like he had a pebble in his hoof and never really did much at all when in the field. The sloth was also partaking in some interesting behavior. During the working hours she would vanish with out a trace and only reappear when work was done. And every time she was asked about her location she would just fall asleep.

The primates when not working were in the control center which they made their personal head quarters. There they researched animal and medical care and learned how to use computers. It was also where they planned the work schedule for the week. On Sunday's there was no work. Breakfast was an hour later than usual and after breakfast would be a ceremony that took place without fail. The hoisting of the flag.

All the animals gathered round the usual flag pole with Tarzan sitting on the high platform.

"Now comrades". He said it is time for us to raise the flag of freedom" after he finished Hathi pulled the rope he had in his trunk and a blue flag, that was a great able cloth from the apes headquarters, was risen with a hoof and horn. Tarzan then explained the flag.

"The blue color is meant to represent the blue earth. And the hoof and horn represent the republic of the animals which would rise when the humans have fallen". They all would then march around the flag singing Beasts of the World. And then head to Busaras former enclosure for a general assembly known as the meeting.

This was were the work for the week was announced and plans were debated. It was the primates who put forth the resolutions. The other animals could vote, but couldn't ever think of any resolutions of there own. Clayton and Tarzan were always the most active in these meetings. But it was seen that they could never agree on anything. Whenever one made a suggestion the other was sure to oppose it. Even when it's something as simple as a retirement place for animals beyond work there was a stormy debate over the retiring age for each species of animal.

It was also eventually discovered what had happened to the milk and the apples, which fell from there trees during a great wind storm. Tarzan had just explained there plans for the week and asked for any questions when an otter came out and asked.

"One thing I would like to know is who keeps stealing the milk and apples. Share and share alike isn't that animalism. Well where's our share!" Soon they all began to chant "who had the milk and apples" until Tarzan finally gave in.

"We have them!" He cried out in a bit of shame and regret. This managed to stop the chant and Tarzan was able to explain. "I'm sorry I had to keep this from you comrades. We wanted to share honestly but-

"But it simply couldn't be done". Julien interrupted. "Don't think that we enjoy stealing all the milk and apples. In fact most of us including myself actually dislike milk and apples, especially together. But you see we apes are the brains of the zoo and milk and apples help the brain function. Would you imagine what would happen if we weren't able to do our work. Well Percival would come back, yes Percival. Surely none of you want Percival back do you?" That was one thing they all agreed on. None of them wanted Percival back, so it was decided that the milk and apples would go to the primates alone.

Though not all of the animals were convinced. Rachel and her father were discussing it on there way home.

"It doesn't seem fair to me". Mumbled Hathi "I like milk and apples. All the herbivores do". Rachel thought for a bit before asking her father a question.

"Dad the primates are always telling us what to do".

"We must have leaders."

"But what if there wrong?"

"Clayton is never wrong."

Back at the bar Percival was suffering from a hangover when Alan and his Deputy mayor appeared and walked straight to him. Alan slapped him in the face to wake him up.

"All over in two weeks you said two months ago". He said once Percival was awake.

"This is what happens when you let a week man run a zoo. At the other zoos there are no week men." The deputy replied.

"Odiously the animals are managing better than we expected. We'll have to do something." Commented Alan

"I'll do something I'll rig his drunken throat". Threatened the deputy. Alan calmed him down

"We need information". Percival opened his mouth and began to talk. Though he was so drunk he was having issues trying to talk.

"W-w-why don't you send in a spy". Alan thought for a minute then had an idea. That night when everyone was asleep they snuck by the outer wall and put a microphone in a small hole in the wall which was into Busaras Enclosure. They quickly ran away and set up the both back at the bar.


End file.
